New MOU aims at establishing a working committee to develop clear pathways on plastic upcycling possibilities

Centre for Appropriate Technology & Development (CATD), Waste Recycles Fiji (WRFL) and Pacific Recycling Foundation (PRF) wishes to announce a new memorandum of understanding that was signed today (Friday 2 September 2022).

Under this MOU, WRFL through its foundation arm PRF will establish a working committee aimed at finding sustainable upcycling solutions for waste plastic. The role of the working committee will be:

a. Establish a clear pathway and proposed timelines to explore plastic (and possibly glass) upcycling options;

b. Share experiments and research on plastic (and possibly glass) upcycling options and

c. Ensure that the proposed upcycling concepts are community centered.

“As recycling activist, finding sustainable solution to waste plastic is critical and this MOU addresses that as well as PRF’s vision that these solutions must be adopted through local knowledge and on the principles of Do No Harm,” said WRFL Director/CEO and PRF Founder Amitesh Deo.

With CATD’s role as a committed vocational training provider to students from all provinces of Fiji and WRFL/PRF’s objectives of finding recycling and upcycling solution for Fiji and the Pacific Region, the signing of this MOU marks an important step towards finding a solution for waste plastic.

“Our commitment is also with the grassroots community engaged in the recycling space, such as the Collection Pillars of Recycling, formerly known as informal waste picker. An important aspect of this MOU is that it will take into consideration the involvement of these communities during implementations stages” said Mr. Deo.

CATD realizes the need to partner with existing players in this space of climate change as we work towards developing sustainable solutions for Fiji and the Pacific. As such, CATD is privileged to be able to partner with WRFL and PRF as we realize the need to up-cycle plastics in Fiji and use these products as inputs into projects such as green-housing,” said Mr. Aporosa Silatolu the Director for CATD, Nadave.

As an institution, we are excited to embark on this journey of re-engineering the way in which we are taught to a more environmentally sustainable manner.

“Mr. Silatolu says as part of CATD’s strategic alignment towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), CATD through this process will develop a new curriculum that may re-engineer the manner in which TVET training is conducted in the region and be a catalyst for behavioral change for the current and future generations.

“We also realize the value of effective partnership and the importance of alignment of values when forming MOU,” said Mr. Deo. “Therefore, we acknowledge CATD for this partnership approach of sharing knowledge and finding a solution to Fiji’s waste plastic problem.